Should I buy continental or Michelin tires?

2 Answers

Michelin MXV4s are OEM on Accords. If you want an exact replacement of what the ride came with, go with that. However, Continental also makes great tires, as do Pirelli, Bridgestone, and Dunlop.

It comes down to two things: How much money do you have, and what kind of driving do you do. High performance tires will give you better handling and braking, but won’t work in the snow. All-season tires are best for most people, but there are variances even there.

Try this site: http://www.tirerack.com. Enter your vehicle information, and they’ll show you what they stock for it, along with performance data and customer reviews. Even if you don’t buy from them, it’s a great source of information.

Michelins are always a safe bet, although you generally pay more unless you look for a deal. A tire guy I talked to recently said that they’re the only manufacturer in his experience that made a tire that requires no balancing.

It’s hard to find info, though. Tirerack is okay, but every tire has a review that says “I love it” and another one that says “I hate it.” Also, their testing data is mainly for performance tires.

The one thing I will say is that you probably don’t want to get more than a 60k tire. That’ll give you a measurably better ride and cut down on the road noise.

discounttire.com has the Michelins rated higher than the Continentals based on user reviews.

I found Continental rated #2 by Consumer Reports for their Truck/SUV tire, so I’m getting that for my RAV4, but they don’t have much up to date info on your situation.